Lacrosse advances to ALC Championship

Special to GC

Mary-Sean Wilcox recorded a career-high 10 saves and Shannon Gilroy scored four goals to lead the No. 3 Florida Gators past the No. 8 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, 11-6, in the semifinals of the ALC Tournament on Friday at Lakeside Field.

Johns Hopkins scored first and kept the game close for most of the first half, as neither team led by more than one until Florida went up 5-3 with 3:53 until the break. The Gators scored their third straight goal to close out the first stanza and take a 6-3 lead before halftime.

Florida started the second half in the same fashion that it closed out the first, stretching its lead to 9-3 in less than 10 minutes. After the teams traded a couple of goals, Johns Hopkins attempted to start a rally, scoring two goals in 1:03 and moving the score to 11-6 with 6:23 on the clock. However, the Gator defense closed ranks and didn’t allow the Blue Jays to come any closer, while the Florida offense ran a stall to keep Johns Hopkins from spending too much time in the offensive third of the field.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • Mary-Sean Wilcox notched a career-high 10 saves, besting the career-high that she set against Johns Hopkins earlier this season in Baltimore, Md.
  • Shannon Gilroy led the Gators with four goals and an assist for five points. She also picked up a draw control and a ground ball. Gilroy is now Florida’s career draw control leader with 215 and the single-season goal leader with 79.
  • Sammi Burgess scored two goals and added the first caused turnover of her career and a ground ball.
  • Nora Barry recorded two goals, four draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover.
  • Sam Darcangelo notched a goal and an assist for two points, while also grabbing a draw control and causing a turnover.
  • Mollie Stevens scored a goal, while Lauren Lea added a goal and a ground ball.
  • Devon Schneider picked up a season-high-tying three ground balls.
Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.